France spotlight and following up with more young Les Bleus for Celtic

What a football fan wants most from the World Cup final is a clear and worthy winner.  Instead, there is a feeling that everything that could have gone wrong for Croatia, did so.  They attacked more, were on the receiving end of a very unfortunate penalty, put the ball into their own net and will forever live with the sense of what could have been.

France eased their way to the trophy throughout the tournament without being spectacular.  Their 2-0 quarter-final win over Uruguay and yesterdays’ final were the only occasions they won a game by more than a single goal.

The more interesting element of France’s development as a football powerhouse is what didn’t happen at Russia.  The legacy of Guy Roux, who educated the nation on how to develop natural young talent into tier one achievers, fills every top league in Europe today.  Celtic’s young Les Bleus are a remarkable example of this.

The win will turn the spotlight onto French football, as a consequence, following up on the signing of Dembele, Ntcham and Eduard will be more difficult.  Let’s hope that the wealthy in England are fully focussed on taking advantage of the obvious superiority of the English academy system.